OptiMYz magazine ran a special adventure travel feature on spring skiing at Whistler, B.C. in the April-May 2010 issue. A few days after that issue came out we were at Whistler for our annual fix of corn snow, great mountain views and sunshine. We skied on Blackcomb Mountain and were treated to well groomed runs that turned to perfect corn by 10:30 am on south slopes. By mid afternoon the moguls were soft and ready made for challenging skiing.

We even got in some demanding runs on one of Blackcomb’s signature steep runs: the Couloir Extreme, a double black diamond run that drop starts with cuts through an overhanging cornice. You don’t want to fall at the top of this run! We started our days by skiing the groomers off of Solar Coaster. Then we moved to the higher, south slopes of 7th Heaven for some fine corn snow runs before lunch. Then we headed for the T Bars and Glacier Express where we skied a variety of groomers, steeps and mogul runs like Heavenly Basin. By mid afternoon our legs were weary and we decided to head for the valley where spring was in full bloom.

We stayed at the Evolution in the Creekside area of Whistler. This is where Whistler got started in the 1960’s. The main village at Whistler is now located a few kilometers north, but I always like to revisit Creekside where it all began. The Evolution is well located for winter skiing at Whistler where a new gondola now whisks people to mid station, and our 1 bedroom condo was well appointed with a fine mountain view from the balcony.

In 2010 we skied in mid May. Blackcomb typically closes on the May 24 weekend. And for those people that want to mix mountain biking with your skiing – May 15, 2010 marked the opening of the lift-served mountain bike season. We were impressed by the lineups of riders ready to load their bikes on to the lifts for the start of a whole other season at Whistler.